Health in North Korea

Health In North Korea

Health Care in North Korea includes a national medical service and health insurance system. North Korea’s government claims that it provides universal health care for all citizens; however independent sources claim that in reality health services only exist for those who can pay for them. There are conflicting reports about the quality of the health care system in North Korea. In April 2010 the World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Margaret Chan visited the nation, and claimed that its health system was the “envy of the developing world,” and that there were sufficient numbers of doctors and nurses. However critics argue that UN agencies such as the WHO are disinclined to criticize North Korea in case their future work there is put at risk. A report from Amnesty International reached a very different conclusion to that of Chan. The report is based on interviews with North Korean citizens who have left the country, and foreign health care workers who have worked in the country. Amongst its findings were that the North Korean health system is vastly under funded by the government; that many health facilities are dilapidated, and without a reliable supply of running water and electricity; and that doctors lack the medical supplies they require, meaning for example that many operations have to take place without anesthesia.